Light-emitting diodes (LEDs) are already used for a plurality of applications and, as a result, are increasingly replacing classic lighting and signaling devices. In particular, the high efficiency and the long life of LEDs compared with other lamps are decisive advantages for the automotive industry. LEDs can thereby also be arranged in very high density on curved surfaces, so that they can be used to produce spatially extended flat light sources as curved shapes.
However, since LEDs in general only emit light at a narrow beam angle (aperture angle of emission), the angle of installation of each individual LED preferably has to be adapted to the local curvature of the surface in order to achieve a uniform beam direction of the LEDs. In order to illuminate individual angular ranges in a targeted fashion it can, however, be necessary to vary the angle of installation independently of the curvature of a surface.
Complex lighting solutions, in particular inside automotive lamps, are currently being produced by placing LEDs on flex boards (as the circuit carrier) and the necessary 3D printed circuit board carriers (as the support element). Alternatively, LEDs are also welded to metal supports or inserted and then soldered by means of through-hole technology (THT) or also “pin-in-hole technology” (PIH). As a result, the necessary production expenses and the manufacturing costs of such systems are increasing significantly.
LED-based lighting systems with a variable beam direction are known, for example, from WO 2012/159744 A2 and DE 10 2011 110 580 A1. Angle-adjustable support elements for LEDs are, for example, disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,897,883 B2, DE 10 2013 113 009 A1, EP 2 938 170 A1 and US 2013/0107497 A1. In these lighting systems the LEDs are electrically contacted, in each case, by means of the support element, wherein the support element is configured to align a LED which is fastened thereon at a particular angle above a circuit carrier and, at the same time, to facilitate electrical contacting between a circuit on the circuit carrier and the LED. Thus, at least two electrical contact points (between the circuit and the support element, and between the support element and LED) are configured for each of the connectors, wherein the standard requirements with respect to functionality, reliability and durability are to be placed on each of these contact points. This also results in an increase in the necessary production expenses and the manufacturing costs of such systems.